


curfews, kisses, & care

by ElasticElla



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, College, F/F, Post-Episode: s01e10 This World Inverted, Underage Drinking, mentioned past ships: clary/jace & camille/izzy, mentioned ships: alec/magnus & maureen/rebecca
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 06:13:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6362752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/pseuds/ElasticElla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Clarissa Morgenstern!” A sharp voice cracks across the hallway, and Clary recognizes her hard ass RA's tone instantly, rolling her eyes. “Do you have <i>any idea</i> what time it is?” </p><p>(or: five times clary missed her curfew & one time lydia did too)</p>
            </blockquote>





	curfews, kisses, & care

**Author's Note:**

> given what people have told me, clary & lydia are at the very least second cousins and likely further than that, so i'm assuming their au counterparts have no idea they're v distantly related

1.

“Clarissa Morgenstern!” A sharp voice cracks across the hallway, and Clary recognizes her hard ass RA's tone instantly, rolling her eyes. “Do you have _any idea_ what time it is?” 

Clary smiles saccharine sweet, dropping her voice to a whisper, “I'm guessing late enough that you shouldn't be yelling.” 

Lydia's glare would scare a lesser freshman, but Clary isn't worried. There isn't anything real Lydia can punish her with, and the university practically begs her Dad to guest lecture regularly. Not that Clary would ever use that, but like, her breaking curfew by a few minutes isn't the end of the world. 

“It's _three am_!” Lydia whisper-hisses, and Clary supposes that's a little later than she thought. It also explains why her body feels so heavy, and her ideas are coming slow. 

“Sorry,” she says, “I um- my boyfriend and I broke up, I didn't realize how late it is.” 

“Oh,” Lydia says, softer. “Do you need anything? Do you want to talk about it?”

Clary can easily imagine Lydia handing her a dozen varied pamphlets on the subject, and she must be really tired, because the idea makes her smile. “No thanks, I'm just gonna go to sleep.” 

Lydia nods, and Clary slips into her room quietly, thankful Maureen's a heavy sleeper. 

2.

“My brother's an idiot,” Izzy declares, swerving across the sidewalk and straightening her glasses. “I can't believe you two broke up! Alec already had a wedding folder for you two.” 

Clary snorts, “He also had a wedding folder for you and that older hacker chick.” 

“Mmm, Camille,” Izzy says with a dazed smile. “Now _she_ was good with her mouth.” 

“You know, with all the typing, I would have expected fingers,” Clary says and Izzy giggles. 

They reach Izzy's apartment building, and after insisting that she'll be fine getting back to her dorm alone, Izzy goes in. Clary ambles back to campus, taking in the starry night sky. It's gorgeous, and she picks the wandering route home, sobering up a bit. It's not until she's before her dorm that she notices how quiet and dark it's gotten, and with crossed fingers, she gently pushes the door open. 

Clary mutters a soft _fuck_ as she spots Lydia immediately, sitting on the stairs, arms crossed and tapping her clipboard. Lydia stands, marching closer. 

“Clarissa, this is the second night in a row that- _are you drunk_?” 

“No?” Clary tries.

Lydia harrumphs, leaning in. Clary's eyes widen, and her breath catches and for a split second she thinks Lydia is about to _kiss her_ \- but then Lydia's inhaling and out of her space with a frown. 

“You smell like tequila,” Lydia says. 

Clary shrugs, and her RA sighs. “C'mon,” Lydia says, walking towards the communal kitchen. “Let's get you hydrated before you fall asleep.” 

“Mkay,” Clary says, happily following the blond braid. Her fingers itch to reach out and grab it, and she catches herself just in time, throwing her hands into fists and into her pockets. 

3.

Clary's pretty good at keeping her curfew for the next few weeks. Perhaps because she's afraid she might turn Lydia's golden hair gray, or maybe because Lydia's actually a pretty great RA when she isn't yelling at her. Their kitchen is far neater than any other one on campus, and is regularly stocked with real ingredients and clean dishes. She also works as a writing tutor, is happy to edit her residents' essays in her downtime, and knows a tutor for seemingly _any_ class. 

It all makes for a rather defensive and apologetic Clary rolling into her dorm late. 

“Okay but this time it wasn't my fault,” Clary quickly says, “there was way more traffic than there should be for two am on a Saturday.” 

“Uh huh,” Lydia says, making a check mark on her clipboard. “And why were you out so late in the first place?” 

Clary grins, “My best friend Simon's band had it's first real concert- with like people who paid to see them in the audience.” 

Lydia coughs, and Clary's _pretty_ sure she's covering up a laugh. 

“Mhmm, next time tell me ahead of time.” 

“Yes Ma'am,” Clary says with a mock salute, and Lydia just shakes her head. 

4.

Clary's art project is due in exactly seven hours, and she's beginning to really regret not getting more done before Simon's concert. Like Thursday night, she definitely could have left after winning trivia with Izzy and Maureen and Simon, rather than staying out for celebratory dancing. It wasn't exactly subtle that Alec missed trivia night, his favorite 'spot and seduce a hot nerd' night. And Clary still can't believe he's dating the tarot card commercial guy. Jace didn't join them after for dancing, and Clary really thought they'd be past this post-breakup weirdness by now. (Or maybe she's over-analyzing it, and he really needs the extra sleep before an early truck shift.)

Regardless, Clary has six hours and fifty-seven minutes to make her drawing not suck and get some sleep. She really should have picked an abstract subject- the assignment's only parameter was to use her entire pen. At this point she would have just cracked the blue pen open, spraying droplets everywhere and calling it a night. 

Instead, she drawing the back of a bride in an empty chapel, petals falling like rain. The complex braid is directly inspired by Lydia's hair from last night, and Clary pretends only the braid is from her. 

(Lydia accepts Clary's exhausted grunt of _homework_ with a fairly short lecture on the merits of working in one of their common rooms, and Clary crashes once her head hits a pillow, dreams of climbing up not-quite Rapunzel's hair.)

5.

Alec's throwing Izzy a party for her promotion, or at least that's what the fliers said. Besides to Izzy there have been toasts to Maureen and Clary's midterms being over, Simon's apartment finally getting its heating fixed, Alec being in a relationship for more than a month, and Jace's coffee truck's growing popularity. Later Clary and Jace drunkenly clink solo cups over still being friends, and any of the lingering weirdness between them dissipates. 

Clary's weaving in and out of people in a mission to get to the kitchen and at some chips. She still doesn't know how Alec or Izzy know all these people, and she almost trips when she sees her roommate making out with Simon's sister. That's definitely something she should avoid mentioning to Simon tonight, and when she finally makes it to the kitchen, there's a familiar blond head.

“Lydia!” Clary blurts out, surprised to see her. “What- how do you know Izzy?” 

“I'm a friend of Alec's,” she says, and Clary supposes that makes more sense. Spotting a bag of Ruffles under the counter, Clary rips it open and stuffs a few in her mouth before remembering Lydia's there. 

“Um, chips?” she asks after swallowing, and Lydia shakes her head quickly. 

“No thank you, I should get going anyways.”

“Oh,” Clary says, a small frown on her face. She can't think of anything to get Lydia to stay, and she wishes she'd brought Izzy downstairs with her- Izzy always knew how to get people to party longer.

“Try not to break curfew,” Lydia says, but she's smiling and Clary really hopes she doesn't forget this part of the night. 

.

When the party starts winding down Clary heads home, and it's five minutes before curfew. It's a little chilly, but she slips off her- well Izzy's- too tall sandals, and runs back. She cuts through the quads, mostly running over cool grass and avoiding the rough concrete. 

She bursts into the dorm, drunken laughter spilling from her lips with a victorious, “I made it!” 

Lydia checks her watch, an amused smile on her lips. “You're thirty seconds late.”

“Oh, come _on_.” Clary says with a wide grin. 

“Mhmm, let's get you hydrated.” 

Clary pauses in the middle of the hallway, drunken brashness and Izzy's advice rolling around her head. 

“Clary?” 

“I'd rather hydrate with you tomorrow. With food and stuff.” 

Lydia blinks, eyebrows furrowed. “Are you asking me out on a date?” 

“Yes.” Clary says and then rushes to add, “if that's not like breaking some RA rule or whatever.”

Lydia's smile reappears, “Sure, if you still want to tomorrow.” 

+1.

Drunk Clary made exactly fourteen reminders to herself to ask out Lydia the following morning. Nine are on her phone, three sticky notes, and two messy letters to herself that Clary can't fully decipher. 

Clary remembers anyways, but it's nice that she has her own back so well. 

.

The date- pizza and the new star wars movie that admittedly Clary's already seen a dozen times- go well. Really well. Like kissing Lydia on their doorstep well, and both of them thoroughly losing track of time until an amused Maureen has to get by them. 

They walk inside, and Clary smirks at Lydia, squeezing her hand. “Looks like someone missed their curfew.” 

Lydia rolls her eyes, and once Maureen disappears around a corner, she lightly pushes Clary against the nearest wall. 

“Pretty sure that was your fault.” 

“Oh yeah?” Clary asks with a grin, and Lydia nods seriously before closing the distance between them with a kiss.


End file.
